A physical space comprises a place or area in which a user can move, such as by walking from one point in the physical space to another point in the physical space (hereinafter referred to as “space” or “area”). Some examples of the spaces include but are not limited to the aisles, concourses, hallways, pathways, waiting or dining areas, and generally areas on the floor space of retail stores, malls, airports, hotel lobbies, automotive dealership lots, showrooms, and the like.
Retailers, airport operators, and generally a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) operator are interested in understanding the movements of users through their spaces. This understanding helps these operators in interacting with the users in a variety of ways. With better understanding of the users' movements through an operator's space, for example, the operator can market their relevant products or services to a user while the user is in that space, the operator can position merchandise for better accessibility to the user, or the operator can improve the traffic flow through the space.
As an example, the advent of Bluetooth technology has empowered many operators to make creative use of Bluetooth beacons for detecting and engaging with users based on their physical location in the operators'spaces. Often, an operator tracks the user's position or location within a space by having the user install a software application on the user's mobile device, which the user carries in the operator's space. The software application establishes communication with one or more Bluetooth beacons situated at known locations within the space. The application on the user's device uses these communications to reveal the user's location proximate to the known location of the beacon, thereby enabling the operator to learn the user's approximate location in the space.
Presently, by knowing a user's presence within a space, an operator targets content, such as advertising, discount offers, promotions, rewards, product information, and the like, to the user's device. This targeting presently takes one of two forms—broadcast transmission to any device within the space, or transmission of specific content to specific device. When targeting specific device with specific content, knowing the user's device's location relative to a floor-plan of the space, present technology enables operators to select content that is relevant to the merchandise within a certain distance of the user at that location.